Så öppet som möjligt, så stängt som nödvändigt. : En studie om arkivariers och bibliotekariers kunskapshantering på Data Access Units.

Sammanfattning: Introduction: Researcher support is often written in the perspective of researchers, and few examine it from the perspective of archivists and librarians, the aim of this study is to change that. In this study we examine how archivists and librarians within Data Access Units (DAU) use their knowledge and how said knowledge is used to achieve the requirements set for making research data available at higher education institutions in Sweden. Method: In this study we have chosen to interview librarians and archivists at DAU:s since their goal is to be there for researchers and create access to data. A qualitative method was used to generate deeper understanding about the subjects. Theories: By applying two theories, Wiig’s Knowledge Management Cycle and Patrick Wilson’s cognitive authority, we aim to show the cycle from beginning of knowledge to the use of knowledge and a deeper understanding of why DAU are to be trusted, both by themselves and by researchers. Analysis and results: Within DAU archivist are unseen next to librarians, often left out and are therefore not assigned cognitive authority compared to the librarians who are often the first that researchers contact when they need help with their data. Problems arise when librarians answer questions meant for archivists, further reducing the archivist’s cognitive authority and highlights the wedge between the professions. However, we have found that many trusts DAU, and that the colleagues trust each other. Conclusions: DAU:s builds and pools knowledge to combine and give a complete coverage in the support they provide for researchers. This allows the different professions in DAU to share their knowledge and their strengths, helping them overcome the increasing demands from the scientific world. This is aided by the fact that archivists and librarians respect each other and assign each other cognitive authority over their specific knowledge domains. However, archivists do not gain the same amount of it from researchers, as librarians do.